Canadian Pavilion

1965 Tokyo International Trade Fair, Japan
Designed 1964
The Canadian Pavilion for the 1965 Tokyo International Trade Fair was made of one of Canada’s prime exports
to Japan- lumber. The structure was built entirely of stacked 6” X 16” rough timber, like a log cabin, and the open
interior had a pool for log rolling exhibitions.
“To the Japanese with their native perfectionism, which I had come to know, I felt that a structure of massive,
rough-cut lumber would have a good shock value. The few groves of trees in Japan that could have supplied
such beams were sacred, and should soon become so in British Columbia where they were shipped from.
However the point was to be felt in the raw power of the very unfinished look of the wood. The building would
just be piled up and crudely put together but vigorous, like Canada.”
- Arthur Erickson
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